My Family by Rose Casson
by Permanent Rose
Summary: Rose examines a good and bad attribute of each member of her family. Casson fic.
1. Caddy

**Caddy**

_Gullible, but Beautiful_

Cadmium Gold, my eldest sister, is probably the prettiest person I have ever seen. She has long blonde hair that has little flecks of gold that show in the sun. She is tall with long legs and just the right amount of curves (says Michael).

Caddy is also the nicest person I know. She is never mean to anyone (well, if you don't count Michael. It was very mean of her to dump him, but then she made it all better when she married him in the end. So.) Caddy is nice everyone and everything. Whenever she finds a spider in the house, instead of smashing it (which I always do) she scoops it up gently in a scrap of paper and brings it out to the garden where she places it gently on the ground saying, "There, there darling. You'll be safe out here."

Caddy can also be very gullible, like the time she (quite accidentally) hit a squirrel during her driving lesson and Michael promised her it went to heaven. And she believed him. Even _I _know that there is no such thing as Squirrel Heaven. (But don't tell that to Caddy.)

Caddy can also be a bit forgetful and absentminded (not unlike Mummy). That is why she keeps an address book filled with all the names of every boyfriend she has ever had (except for Michael. He is one thing Caddy will never forget). When Michael first asked Caddy to marry him, Caddy kept losing her ring. ("That would not happen if you kept on," said darling Michael). But poor Caddy was so afraid of cooking and babies that she would not keep it on and I was so afraid that she would give it back to Michael. So I burgled it. I stole Caddy's platinum banded diamond ring (I do not recommend doing this. It does not work.)

So after poor Michael was dumped, he left on a motorbike trip with his friend Luke all across Europe. And Caddy decided that Not-So-Darling Alex was The Real Thing. But I knew that he was not so I had to crash their wedding (which is something else I do not recommend doing, although that one worked.)

Now Caddy and Michael are married and they have a little boy named Buttercup. And everyone is happy. (Especially Caddy because Michael does the cooking)


	2. Saffron

**Saffron**

_Stubborn, but Loyal_

Saffron is my cousin. And my sister. (You figure that one out) She is pretty, but not quite as pretty as Caddy. She is also very stubborn.

Before I was even born, Saffron's mum died and Mummy and Daddy decided to adopt her. Saffron did not know about this until she was eight. Mummy found out immediately that it was not very smart to keep a secret like that. So Saffron, who could not even remember her real mum and loved Mummy and Daddy like they were her real parents, started calling Mummy 'Eve' and Daddy 'Bill'. And whenever anyone would say something regarding Mummy and Daddy as her parents, Saffy would have a fit.

That was all good and well until three years ago, when we found out that Saffron was not only our cousin, but also our half sister. (Naughty, naughty Daddy) So now Saffron cannot deny that Daddy is her father (even though she wants to now more than ever)

Saffron has a best friend named Sarah. Saffron and Sarah are inseparable. It is very hard for me to remember what life was like before Sarah came along. If something makes Sarah unhappy, then Saffron is immediately unhappy, too (and vice versa). They always do everything together, like sunbathing in our garden (which Mummy says Maybe-You-Should-Not-Do-That-Naked because David's eyes almost fell out but that is another story) or making exploded carbonated swamp (a.k.a. birthday cake for Sarah's mum). Saffron and Sarah have always been there for each other.

"Almost always," says Saffron. Because she remembers that one time when Sarah was ill and she ran away. Now everyone will forget all the hundreds of times she was there for Sarah and only remember the one time she ran away (says Saffy)

But I don't. I remember all the hundreds of times that Saffy was there.


	3. Sarah

**Sarah**

_Spoiled, but Clever_

Sarah is not my sister, but she might as well be. She is over our house enough. Sarah came to be part of our lives on account of an angel. (Because if it wasn't for Saffy's angel, then Saffy would not have been chucking sandwiches at Daddy, and then Sarah would've have run over Saffron in her wheelchair. So). Saffron and Sarah became particularly good friends after Saffron stowed away to Italy in the back of Sarah's car.

Sarah lives just up the street (only a three minute walk), but her house is quite different from our house.

Banana House: dilapidated and messy.

Sarah's house: posh and neat.

Sarah is rich.

Sarah has two beds and hammock. She also has two computers. (Who needs _two _computers? "Only one connects to the internet," protests Sarah.) Her entire room is filled with accumulated junk from her many relations. She has guitars and drums and cardboard cut outs of famous people and millions of other things that she will never use.

Sarah's mum is the head of a posh private school, which Sarah used to attend before she got kicked out. It was very difficult for Sarah to get kicked out. It took earrings and nose studs and gum and not wearing school uniform and many trips to the head's (her mum's) office and finally a threat to smoke during assembly. Then only two days later, she showed up at Saffy and Indy's school.

Sarah is quite good at getting what she wants. Her condition (being her wheelchair) and fake tears help a lot (says Saffron).

Sarah may be spoiled, but she is also very kind and clever.

If you are ever in tight situation, it is very good to have Sarah there, like that one time that I went to New York and just expected Tom to be waiting for me. Sarah (with the help of David) broke into the school and stole Tom's records so they could tell him I was coming.

Despite being so clever, Sarah can get into a lot of trouble, like that one time when she and Saffron were thirteen and they got nose studs. (Our family was delighted. Sarah's mum was not). After Caddy's wedding (the one with Alex that I crashed, not the Real One) Sarah and Saffron hijacked one of the horse carriages and had a ride around town.

Sarah is someone that you can never be bored around.


	4. Indigo

**Indigo**

_Fearful, but Daring_

Fearful and daring do not usually go together, but Indigo, my only brother, is a perfect example to how someone can be fearful and daring at the same time.

Indigo has always been terribly afraid of heights. When he was eleven-years-old, he tried to cure his fear by sitting up in his windowsill and dangling his legs out the window. It took awhile, but eventually he cured himself.

Indy has a very good taste in music. (He often falls asleep while listening to his headphones. It is impossible to wake him) Indy says that all the kids at school want him to burn them CDs, but Indy says no (I do not think he hasn't quite forgiven them yet for flushing his head) The only time they got to enjoy Indy's music properly was at the Valentine disco one year.

Sarah was very upset because of the disco.

"But why is Sarah so fed up?" Indy asked.

"Becaaaaauuuuuuse," I told him. (Was he really that thick?) "She has a wheelchair."

Indy is dating Sarah. (it took him long enough). But at the time of the disco he was still feeling shy and he wanted to make Sarah happy by taking her to the disco. So he came up with a clever plan.

He talked to Oscar (the mad art student) and convinced Oscar to let him be in charge of the disco. Since the tickets are sold in pairs, (one of the reasons why so many people opt not to go) Indy decided to pair up compatible couples. This was an immediate success. Indy paired himself with Sarah. And he paired Saffron with David. Which left poor Oscar.

Oh dear.

So that is how I got to go to a Big School disco when I was only ten-years-old.

It was the best disco the school ever had. Everyone enjoyed themselves. Even Sarah (she and Indy only danced to the slow songs).

Now Sarah and Indy laugh and laugh about Indigo's Valentine Disco.

"It was all very daring of you," says Sarah, pecking Indy on the cheek.

So it was. That is how Indigo does Special.


	5. Eve

**Eve**

_Forgetful, but Thoughtful_

It might be true that Mummy calls everyone darling so she doesn't have to bother with names. She does know all of our names, though. (Except for David. She is forever forgetting and calling him MarcusJoshPatrick.)

Mummy is not what you would call a proper artist. She is a garden shed artist, which simply mean she paints (Not-Exactly-Art) in the shed in the garden (and sometimes sleeps in there too). Mummy loves her shed.

Mummy forgets lots of things, like supper and shopping and gas to make the car go. She forgets when she puts on tea and often forgets to do the wash. Sometimes she even forgets to come out of her shed.

That is why she married Daddy she says. He remembered all the things that she forgot. That worked out until Daddy got his flat in London and only came home on weekends (or not at all).

Then Indy did the cooking. Caddy did the shopping. Saffron reminded her to fill the gas tank. And I made tea for her and brought it out to the shed.

No one did the wash.

But now Daddy is home again and he makes exotic dishes for supper and buys expensive foods (like saffron. We were all very excited to try Saffy's namesake.) He always remembers tea and now we always, always have clean socks and panties.

Daddy says now we are a functional family. What were we before? Dysfunctional? (Yes)

But even though Mummy is so forgetful, she is also very thoughtful. Like the time she got bronchitis and almost had spend Christmas in the shed. She was squirting disinfectant spray and running off to her shed to keep the germs there instead of in the house so we would not catch it.

Though Mummy forgets the big things (like supper) she always remembers the small things. Like paint (We are never low on one pound tubes of squashed paint. Just check the refrigerator.) Mummy notices the things that no one else seems to notice. She knows just what will make everyone happy.

For example, its art supplies for me. Whether it is a scrap piece of canvas or chalk or pastels she picked up from the store, she always surprises me with the right thing just when I need it.

Or for Caddy, it used to be hamsters or guinea pigs. Caddy would be distraught for days when one died, so Mummy would go out and pick out new ones for her. Caddy would be ecstatic to add another member to her every growing rodent family. Now since Caddy has graduated from guinea pigs, Mum now gladly watches Buttercup when Caddy needs a break.

Even though Mummy can be ditzy and absentminded, she knows how to make the little things count.


	6. Bill

**Bill**

_Wicked, but Successful_

Daddy can be very darling, but sometimes he is very, very wicked.

Daddy's most wicked moment (we all agree on this) was when we found out he was Saffron father. That and the fact that he had hidden it for years (Wicked, wicked Daddy)

But no matter how wicked and devious Daddy might be, there is no denying the fact that he is very, very successful.

Mummy says he was like that from the start. "Very unlike me," Mummy told us. "I think it was his successfulness that captivated me. That and that smile of his. All you have it, you know."

So we do. Sarah calls it the Casson smile.

It seemed liked Daddy just kept getting more and more successful. By the time I was born, he was too successful to work at home with four children underfoot (he said)

But Mummy could.

"Entirely different," he tried to explain. But I didn't understand.

By the time I was eight, Daddy was too successful to even visit on the weekends. And I had to resort to writing him scary letters to try to blackmail him into coming home. But that did not work because Daddy had become too successful for Mummy. Now he had Samantha.

How successful can you be before it backfires on you? Very. (Proved by Daddy)

So now Daddy lives back at home with us and he is mending his ways. He is being the father he hasn't been for years and the husband Mummy has been hoping for.

And he is still very, very successful.


	7. Rose

**Saffron**-regular

**Sarah-**_italics_

**Rose**

_Mischievous, but Loving_

By Saffron and _Sarah_

It is our turn to write about Rose. Because even Rose is not so haughty as to write about herself.

_At least we hope not. _

Indigo once said that Rose was good at two things: art and loving.

_And crime. He mentioned that, too._

Quite true, but irrelevant. She stopped shoplifting ages ago. _(At least we think so)_

Art has always been a part of the Casson family, but Rose is the only one who seems to have truly picked it up. Even when she was a baby, she used to steal tubes of paint and suck on them. She learned to draw long before she could write. She's always preferred wall to paper (Much to Bill's dislike. That is why he always keeps a store of Scrubbable Magnolia handy). She's made edible art and even a black cardboard sky. All you have to do is walk into our house to see how much Rose loves art.

_Loving is the other thing that Rose is quite good at. From her messy hugs (Advice: never where designer clothing when receiving a hug from Rose. She is almost always covered in paint) to her fierce devotion to her family and friends, I do not know anyone who is better at loving than Rose. _

Rose loves people so much that it sometimes gets her into trouble. Back in her shoplifting days when Caddy was first engaged to Michael, Rose stole Caddy's engagement ring. She did it all for Michael. She could not bear to see him broken hearted.

_And remember that one Valentine's Day? The year of Indigo's disco? She mass-produced all those Valentines and then she found someone to give every single one of them to. But then remember what she said? "They are all for Tom really." _

Yes. I remember. Rose loves Tom no matter what she says. Which reminds me of that time that she took apart Tom's guitar and tried to fix it for him. _And then Bill came home and saved the day._

Do you ever think that Rose loves people too much?

_No._

Yes, I suppose you are right. No matter how many paint-y hugs, broken guitars, and stolen rings, I do not think you can ever love too much.


End file.
